The De-Coding of Jo

Hall of Ignorance (Ascending Angel Academy)

By: Lali A. Love

Narrated by: Lillian Rose

Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

A mysterious portal...

A sinister plot...

A cosmic mission.

The De-Coding of Jo: Hall of Ignorance is a meld of fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction, with a strong appeal to young adult readers (14+). It is the first book of the Ascending Angel Academy series, incorporating plot-driven and coming-of-age stories of diverse, gender-inclusive teenagers struggling with self-identity and a sense of belonging.

When a demonic parasite turns her classmates into an army of sleepwalkers, 16-year-old Jo must confront her celestial identity and reveal the mystery of existence. With the help of her best friends and a Galactic Compass, Jo unleashes the cosmic powers of creation to prevent the Lord of Darkness from enslaving all of humanity into obscurity.

Will she be able to decode the artificial system in time to save her friends and the sacred Light?

©2020 Lali A. Love (P)2020 Lali A. Love

Beautiful performance of a wonderful story

First published on http://amorinacarlton.com (For more extensive thoughts, visit me there).

Lali A. Love beautifully weaves her characters into fully developed humans with flaws and characteristics, making them feel real and whole. This raises the stakes, making each loss to the evil parasites that much worse. Each twist of the knife is all the deeper because of the intimate insight Love has given us into each of the cast of significant characters in the story. Jo loves her friends deeply, it seems more than her own family, another way in which Love has captured the intensity and reality of being a teenager. The intimate beauty of the friendships between this group is a testament to the strength of Love's abilities as a writer.

their world is just like ours. But there is a seething underbelly of darkness waiting to devour them all. She pairs this with gorgeous descriptions of the Galactic Council and Ascending Angel Academy, from which Jo learns how to fight this darkness to save her world. The blending of images of demons, angels, light, darkness, and a matrix could be hard to follow. But it remained beautiful and intricate, and weaved images that worked to build a complex world needing so much more exploration.

This book merged ideas that sounded so much like religion, fantasy, and new-aged thinking, making it a wild and intriguing ride. But the descriptions were enchanting and surreal. Love's idea is so well fleshed out, it requires the full trilogy, and I can't wait to see where this goes next. Jo is just beginning to explore her powers, and several huge twists in the book leave you wanting to explore more. The beautiful, peaceful way Jo renounces negative energy and so many horrible experiences has the potential to be so healing and transformative if you can open your mind and heart and listen. The book, in fact, felt like a soulful, almost spiritual experience, especially listening to it in the audiobook.

As for the audiobook format, the narrator took me a few minutes to get used to, which sometimes happens, but as soon as I did, it was a lovely experience. However, if you often listen to books with children in the car, this is not one that's appropriate for that. There is casual drug use, some cursing, instances of sexual talk, violence, and other topics inappropriate for children or sensitive topics. The author has recommended the book for ages fifteen and up.

If you're looking for an action-packed story that will keep you on the edge of your seat with just enough drama, romance, and mystery to keep you going, this is the story for you.

I received the audiobook version of this as a gift from the author, but that didn't impact my honest review given freely here.

A book like no other!

(Actual rating: 4.5 stars)

The De-Coding of Jo: Hall of Ignorance is a book like no other.

Featuring Jo, our heroine is a young teenage girl struggling with the trauma of her mother being kidnapped and almost killed, which is featured in her nightmares every night. Unable to sleep or find any sort of rest, Jo turns to drugs and pills to find a form of solace. Her only bright spot in her life is her friends, a group of misfits that were brought together by their love of music.

I loved every character in this book. The LGBTQ+ representation was incredible. Each of them struggled with very relatable issues like body image, addiction, abandonment, and more. One small complaint I had was their introduction. As we met each character, we were given sort of an info dump on their past and their traumas, which at times felt a bit much and I wish it had been revealed more along the way instead of telling us everything at once.

As the book goes on, Jo finds out she’s special. I won’t say too much more to avoid spoilers, but her realizations were so deep and well thought out. Love is so knowledgeable about the topics she writes and I found myself in awe of certain aspects that I never even thought of before especially the effect of music on our emotions.

As Jo journeyed to find peace and self-love, I felt like I was joining her in the process. She deals with loss, heartbreak, and so much more, and watching her learn to forgive and love everyone no matter how much evil they carried within themselves resonated deeply with me.

This book was not an easy read. There are a lot of triggers including sexual assault, self-harm, drug abuse, and death, but I found it more than worth it. This story definitely isn’t for everyone but I’m so glad I picked it up.